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Determining the Functional Status of the Corticospinal Tract Within One Week of Stroke
Published on: February 22, 2020
Proprioception of the shoulder after stroke
Martijn H Niessen1, Dirkjan H Veeger, Peter A Koppe
1Research Institute MOVE, Faculty of Human Movement Sciences, VU University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. m.niessen@fbw.vu.nl
Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
|January 30, 2008
Summary
Stroke survivors show impaired shoulder position sense on both affected and unaffected sides, indicating a need for targeted rehabilitation. Passive joint position reproduction remains unaffected, suggesting specific sensory pathways are impacted.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Rehabilitation Medicine
- Kinesiology
Background:
- Stroke frequently leads to motor deficits, impacting proprioception and kinesthesia.
- Shoulder position sense and kinesthesia are crucial for functional recovery after stroke.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate shoulder position sense and kinesthesia in stroke patients compared to healthy controls.
- To determine if stroke affects the threshold to detection of passive motion (TDPM) and passive reproduction of joint position.
Main Methods:
- A case-control study involving 22 stroke patients and 10 healthy controls.
- Measurements included angular displacement for TDPM and absolute error for passive joint position reproduction in shoulder internal and external rotation.
Main Results:
- Stroke patients exhibited significantly higher TDPM in both internal and external rotation on both the paretic and non-paretic sides compared to controls.
- TDPM for internal rotation was also higher on the paretic side versus the non-paretic side in stroke patients.
- No significant differences were found in passive reproduction of joint position between stroke patients and controls.
Conclusions:
- Stroke impairs shoulder position sense, specifically the threshold to detect passive motion, on both contralateral and ipsilateral sides.
- Passive reproduction of joint position appears unaffected by stroke.
- Impaired TDPM may stem from issues with muscle spindle control or central processing of afferent signals.
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